The Art Institute of Pittsburgh - Online Division Reviews of Bachelor's in Interior Design

"I was not able to graduate because I was admitted into emergency surgery during one class and when I hot out and showed documentation they kept giving me the run around and would not let me back in stating I owed them money! Not true I had financial aid."

"This school is a TOTAL RIP OFF!!!!!! The cost of tuition is ridiculous and entirely too much for what is provided. You are literally teaching yourself and the cost of a 5.5-week course doesn't make sense. They force you to purchase e-Books every session and they expire after you graduate. The majority of the books have the same information. And 90% of the time the students don't even use them. I really hate that I enrolled here!"

"The classes aren't awful. For an online degree, I felt I've learned a bit actually. The AutoCAD class started at about probably 20-something and only I along with 2 or three others finished. There was a lawyer in the class, who said that she had never taken a class so demanding--- she dropped out too. It was ridiculous. My real gripe though is their finance department. Nothing but a thorn in my side!! They just can't get things right! I'm so frustrated I could scream. After getting a letter in the mail from 'recovery services,' I was only told I'd have to wait for the next letter to come in the mail. This of course, was after I was told I now had to pay for classes in full if I was only going to take a class at a time BEFORE I started class. I paid, started and finished the class, but I owe money? I've had about 6 finance advisors since starting, which to be fair, was a few years ago now, but still... There's only been a few times when I've talked with the same advisor twice. The classes are decent, but the harassing calls from people trying to get you back in class (sometimes even at 9 at night,) and the abysmal quality of the financial staff, I'm not sure if I would choose this school again, knowing what I know now."

"Lets just say I was going to school here for a year and a half, took twenty classes and now owe $33,000 in loans and $3,000 to the school. As a single mother, I would have never took on this type of obligation. I was tricked into thinking I would only pay $200 a month for the three years I was supposed to attend."

"I decided after moving and transferring through a few schools that I wanted to finish my degree online so that any future moves would not affect my progress. The transfer evaluation progress was unbelievably difficult. The academic team was very unhelpful and I had to repeat information multie times. My academic team also continued to change while I was going though the process and it made it even harder to have to explain my situation to every new person I had to deal with. In the year and a half I was enrolled I went through a total of 9 academic advisors. Each time I was never informed of any changes and it was only when I needed help that I had to contact them and they were not responsive. They offered a academic achievement grant which was helpful for affording the ridiculously high price tag but they would not allow you to take out any funds for living expenses if you were using the grant. All of your financial aid funds will be used by the school. They also make you pay a monthly payment in order to use the grant. What a scam! That is not how grants work. The financial aid department is just set up to get the most money for the school. There were some classes that I learned a few things, but mostly the instructors did the bare minimum of grading and responding to your discussion post assignments. Some instructors were barely there. Overall, the administration is unresponsive and some are incompetent to an unbelievable level. The teachers are not passionate and you do not get the interactions that you need to perform well. There is little help with finding internships. They will bleed your financial aid dry. Do not attend any Art Institute schools, you will end up like so many of us in huge amounts of debt and regretting your decision. I wish I had listened to these warnings before I signed up."

"I sit here as a confused and hurt woman who thought I was close to achieving something positive with a true desire to accomplish a degree. I am having trouble paying my student loans because I fell prey to predatory practices of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online division. When recruited my recruiter described a high paying corporate job with plenty of support landing a job and securing funding to earn my degree in interior Design. Actually, my degree was equated to that of a doctor! I now know they meant equated to the cost of a medical degree not the earnings of one! By 2011 I was out of money to borrow and had spent the last 7 years jumping thru hoops that the Art Institute had laid out. More then once I was lied to about the class requirements and enrollment policy's. I got tired and fearful of all the policy changes and debt that was growing with each one of these "hoops " I was jumping thru. To stop the chaos I requested to change to Associates degree rather then the Bachelors. Once again I was told "no " because I had attempted to many credits. The information I was given was always unverifiable. I had no recourse but to move forward. Regretfully, in the summer of 2011 I was told I ran out of federal money to borrow. This was not something I was ever told would happen. $60,000 in debt and $13000 out of pocket and I couldn't afford to finish the degree. I asked the school for a ledger. I got lucky and found someone who forwarded to me. To my surprise there are disbursement that had been paid by student loans that are unverifiable. For example, a $2000 stipend that I never had received! Don't know why my financial plan was set up for more then what was needed! I questioned my ledger and asked for an audit. To my regret I never was able to get a response or support. As I reflect on my tenure at The Art Institute or Pittsburgh online division, It becomes real clear that I had been duped. I respected and trusted what I was being told about the degree I was studying for, the opportunities that would be available and policies that were being disclosed were honest. I was lead by the nose. If this was a car I would be covered under a Lemon Law! In other words I thought I was buying a diamond not a lump of coal. It appears I will never recover from the predatory practices, unless of course The Art Institute is held accountable and gives a refund. A refund based on the misrepresentation of the education and job placement. The Deliberate deception has made me vulnerable to financial ruin."

"School is not prepared to provide an education that is worthy of the Price Tag they have attached. The school has trained all it's employees to always consider maxing out cost over ethical and moral guidance. Financial aid operates with a sense of urgency to rush you thru important financial decisions. Student services will find a way around allowing major changes if it will put less money in the Schools bank account. Non of the guidance will have your true success as priority. Money for school , EDMC and Ultimately Goldman Saks are all that matters to this school. Google the Lawsuits"

"This school is the worst. None of the staff knows what the hell is going on. They are constantly "checking in" but as soon as you tell them truth, that are scam artists and being really inadequate they won't respond or they switch your advisers. I have also received several billing statements, for other students. Or once I got a course withdrawal email for someone else. I emailed back to clarify with my "team" and again, the snotty woman never even responded. This school is far too expensive. I could teach myself the things I learn here. The instructors are basically there to mediate the courses. They are no help. They just sit back and enforce strange rubrics, change the rules then grade you poorly based on some stuff they made up. I have had more crappy instructors than not. I had one who was posting one rubric then claiming I had misread, misunderstood or ignored the rules so I copy & pasted the assignment requirements and sent them to her, she STILL insisted that's not what was posted. I had to remove my phone number from my profile because they call non-stop. The few times I have talked to them they expect to get 4 or 5 hours of your time. I'm a parent and full-time employee. I can't do that, nor would I if I had no other requirements. I also had my work number listed for possible emergency contact... they called me daily for a few days at work. Problem is they couldn't reach me because I worked shifts, in a 911 dispatch facility. Once they got me on the line and I simply told the man he needed to stop calling my job and tying up 911 lines and hung up on him. They still demand contact info for me at times and I ignore them. They have my email and that is all. I am looking to change schools or simply give up design school. I haven't taken a single course in the last 3 years that applies to Interior Design... I was under the impression this was like a vocational school, I'd be studying for my degree. But no, I'm paying over $4,000 each semester for fillers and gen eds at this fake school. I was advised after years that my aide will run out before I can even complete my degree. My financial adviser is some young girl who is nasty and stated the information about my aide as though I was the dumbest person on Earth. The info also was ONLY told to me after I threatened to leave the school, and after I demanded (after asking many times) to change my aide disbursement so that I can get the money instead of giving the remainder aide to them. This place is all about your money, not you. They will contact you relentlessly if you owe them but they refuse to answer you if you contact them with a problem. Reading these reviews I saw that there is no Dean or President. . How is that even possible? Explains a lot. I am so fed up and it's time I put my negative experience out there too if it will help save someone else a few thousand dollars on this useless place."